Fuzzy
by Coralbits
Summary: The next thing Vermilion knows, he's being given water, and he's in Viridian's lap. He isn't sure about what's going on, but Viridian sure looks upset...


A bottle is pressed up against his lips.

Vermilion gulps the water down. He opens his eyes a little and turns slightly. Slightly roughened hands pull him up into someone's lap. A special someone, with their lips to his cheek. Vermilion tilts his head towards the kiss. Warm, soft lips gently press to his own. They pull away, and he squints at their face.

"Cyaptain?" He whispers. He tries to lift his arm, but all it does is shake. Captain Viridian takes hold of his hand.

"Don't move, Officer," they say softly. "Relax." Their lower lip trembles. Their fingers interlace with his.

It is only now that it occurs to him that his memory is blank. He opens his mouth. Trying hard to be louder than a whisper, he asks where they are.

Viridian glances around. "We're at the entrance of a cave in the forest."

Vermilion flops his head to the side to see, but the light is bright. He closes his eyes and turns his head back into Viridian's chest. He goes to squeeze their hand, but his fingers only twitch. "Why can't I move?" Vermilion asks, slightly panicked.

Viridian's breathing suddenly becomes uneven. Vermilion opens his eyes as a tear falls onto his chest, and Viridian leans back and turns away. Vermilion feels his heart beat faster. He's breathing fast.

"Cyaptain?" He prompts. "What happened?"

Viridian sniffles. "You're... you're hurt really bad, Vermilion. I-I think it's the painkillers that are messing with your movement."

"Painkillers?" Vermilion whispers to himself. "Is that why I don't remember anything?"

Viridian struggles to put their words together. "Actually... it was the pain you were in, I think."

"Huh." He wonders how he had reacted to... "Why am I hurt, Cyaptain?" He asks once more. He looks down at himself. With the way Viridian is acting, he isn't surprised to see himself covered in hastily made bandages. The otherwise concerning amount of black patches on them don't faze him. Maybe it's the painkillers.

Viridian stares at him with wide, baggy eyes. "What's the last thing you remember?"

The first thing that pops into his mind is a view of the outside world through the ship's hatch. He tells them so.

"Are you sure?"

"I think so."

Viridian exhales. "Okay... you... you were ambushed. You called us and said where you were. When I got to where you were..." Viridian trails off and traces their fingers along Vermilion's face. "You were being sacrificed to a god, I think. They were-" Viridian stops and runs their fingers down to Vermilion's stomach. "When I got there, they were laying your intestines out on a table."

An image of a crowd appears. Quickly, he pushes it out, but the feeling it gave him doesn't go away.

"Look... can we talk about this later? I don't... Well, I don't want you to remember," Viridian murmurs. "You're already pale enough as it is."

Vermilion nods weakly. He watches their hand travel up to his face and cup it. He can feel their thumb rubbing his cheek.

"We're waiting for the others to get here. I'm not sure how long they'll take, but it'll be soon."

"Ok." Vermilion is now aware of Viridian's other hand cradling his head. He shifts a little and smiles at them. "Are you ok?"

"No," they say with a waver. "But that's okay. I'm happy that you're alive." Viridian leans down over Vermilion. "Want more kisses?"

Vermilion feels his face heat up as he says yes. He closes his eyes as Viridian's lips connect with his. He likes how soft they feel. His hand twitches at the thought of holding Viridian's cheek. Viridian pulls away and stares into his eyes. Vermilion eyes their slightly parted lips.

Viridian kisses his forehead, and then both of his cheeks. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"Go to sleep, then. You'll be okay," Viridian replies. Vermilion nods and closes his eyes. He can hear leaves rustling, meanwhile Viridian incessantly caresses his head until the darkness cuts out.

The darkness cuts to dimmed white lights. He's sweating. He looks around. He's in the emergency room, and there's a tube sticking out of him. He makes eye contact with Violet.

"Good afternoon, Vermilion," she says warmly. "How are you feeling?"

"Hi," he replies. "I... I think I feel ok."

"Any pain?"

"Nope."

"Do you feel sick?"

"I feel loopy."

"That's normal, don't worry," she says with a sigh. "Viridian told me that you couldn't remember what happened to you. So, you might end up resting in here a little longer depending on if you're concussed."

His mouth makes a silent "o".

"Did Viridian tell you what happened?"

The crowd comes back, and his spine crawls. "Kinda. Said that I got ambushed, and almost sacrificed."

Her eyes bore into him. He's sure that she saw it. "What do you remember?"

"A crowd," he says quietly. But now, there's "Noise, too."

"Is that all?"

"Mhm." He eyeballs the tube, and the memory fades. "What's this?"

"A disinfectant, basically. I had to operate on you, so that's why that's there." She eyes him over again. "Can you lift up your arm?"

He lifts his arm straight up.

"That's good."

He puts it back down and flexes his fingers. Out of curiosity, he wiggles the rest of his body. Something is tugging at his forehead. He closes his eyes to alleviate it.

"Going to sleep?" Violet asks quietly.

"Yeah." He confirms.

"Sleep well."

Once more, his body goes limp.

Bright colors flash by. Stars explode. His limbs flail out but bounce off uselessly. But he stands. He stands and faces a sea of strangers. The crowd chants something he doesn't understand. The individuals of the crowd are melting into blobs. A loud voice blots out the crowd as a sharp pain begins dragging across his abdomen.

Don't look. Don't look. It isn't happening. He stares at the crowd. Something slides inside his stomach, and he shakes so badly that he looks down at the black mass being pulled out by the hand. Breakfast is rising from his stomach.

"Vermilion?"

His eyes open. There's a hand on his chest.

He faces Viridian.

"Good morning," Viridian murmurs. "Deep breaths, Vermilion."

As he shakily inhales, he grabs for Viridian's hand and squeezes it. They squeeze back. He stares into their eyes.

"You're okay," Viridian says.

"I'm ok."

"You're okay."

"I'm ok."

"You're okay." Viridian lifts Vermilion's hand and kisses it.

"Hi," is the only thing he can think to say.

"Hello," Viridian replies. "Are you okay?"

"I'm ok," Vermilion says as he exhales. "I think I remember what happened."

Viridian frowns. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Vermilion evens out his breathing as he decides. "What did you see?"

Viridian sits down on the stool next to the bed. They interlace their fingers with Vermilion's. "I snuck in from the side. I... I heard where you were. You passed out, and they were getting ready to cut out your intestines." Viridian breathes in and sighs. "I shot the one with the knife before it could get too close to you. The others all freaked out after that and ran off. I think they thought the shot came from their god or something."

"You killed them?"

"Yeah. Actually, I killed everyone up on the podium that looked important. When everyone else started running, I went over and..."

Vermilion watches Viridian divert their gaze. Their eyes are wide open. He squeezes their hand. He definitely doesn't remember anything Viridian is talking about.

"Well, I got your intestines back inside. Then I stapled and wrapped you up the best I could. I got you onto my back and carried you around. After I had been walking for a fair while, you woke back up and started screaming."

He tries to remember, but he can't. The only images he can see are those he conjured up while listening to Viridian's side of the story. Tears well up in their eyes, and it's a couple of minutes before they speak again.

"I panicked. You weren't even moving. I was scared that I would accidentally give you too much painkiller, so I started small." Viridian wipes their eyes, but their lip is quivering. "That's why your voice is quiet."

"How did you find the cave we were in?"

"Violet told me there was one, so I took us there to hide."

"Ok." Vermilion tugs on Viridian's hand. They let their arm flop, and Vermilion pulls on their arm until he's able to press their hand to his cheek. He smiles at Viridian.

"I'm sorry," Viridian mumbles with a sniffle. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Cyaptain. I... I kinda feel freaked out, too." Vermilion nuzzles their hand. "I think I would be crying too, if I were you."

Viridian plants their face into Vermilion's chest. He pets the back of their head. He can hear muffled crying. He begins to really think about how he would react if this situation were the other way around. He puts his lips on Viridian's hand. Eventually, Viridian's head lifts up.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Viridian looks away. "I'm sorry."

"_Nooo_, Cyaptain, it's ok, I get it," Vermilion says quickly. He hugs Viridian's arm and grins. "I'm here."

He waits for Viridian to ask, but they never do. So, he takes a deep breath.

"I think I got my head clocked, because I don't actually remember anything before that. After is weird, too. It hurt a lot, though, and I was dizzy. I remember getting tied up so that I could stand. I was trying to fight back, but I think the hit to my head made me too weak. So I'm standing there, and I see the crowd," he pauses. "It was a really big crowd. They just stared at me and chanted."

He can feel blood leaving his face. Viridian cups his cheek with their other hand.

"I didn't want to look when I felt the blade. But I felt something in my stomach, so..." he stares at Viridian's face to get the image out. But it stays. They rub their thumb across his cheek, and it goes away. He exhales. "I think I threw up. It didn't bother them, though. I passed out after that, I think."

Viridian pulls their arm back and cups his other cheek. Slowly, they draw close. Their foreheads touch.

"You'll... you'll be here, right?"

"Of course. How else am I supposed to cuddle your nightmares away?" Viridian replies with a slight laugh. Then, they put their lips on Vermilion's.

His heart starts racing. He grabs Viridian's head and pulls them into his mouth. The feeling of their soft lips rushes through him and makes him shiver. His hand runs from their face and down their chest. Viridian pulls away.

"I love you," Viridian murmurs.

"I-I love you too." Vermilion's face heats up again. Viridian smiles and lays their head on his chest.

"I _loooove_ you," Viridian enunciates.

"I _loooove_ you too."

"I _loooove_ you very much."

"I _loooove_ you very much too, handsome."

Viridian's cheeks darken. "You're handsome, too."


End file.
